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1K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  JWPalmer 
#1 ·
I have had bees with some limited success for several years. I recently retired and I'm trying to do a better job for these amazing creatures. I'm located in western Washington State in the city of Issaquah and new member of two local associations.

I have a question about a recent Oxalic Acid vaporization treatment. Hope it is okay to post it here.

Early in Nov. I completed a series of three OA treatments, the resulting 24hr mite drop was too high to count with the 1st, then 140 and finally 80. On 11/28 (the weather was below 40* most of the day), I completed a OA treatment and the 24 hr mite drop was 0.

While I would be very pleased with anything close to 0, I am concerned that it is a false indicator of the mite load. Upon some additional reading, it may be that the cooler weather resulted in this low reading.

Is it simply the cooler weather or once they being clustering, OA treatments are not effective?

Thanks for your comments.
JDW
 
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#3 ·
The bees were most likely too tightly clustered for the OA to be effective. Wait for a day when the the sun is out and the temps are above 40°F, then hit them again with a shot. Mite count should be taken on day three, even though it is not uncommon to see mites falling after just an hour or two. A proper November treatment with a very low drop, followed by a zero drop after the Dec. treatment would be great, but 80 was too high to get a zero at the next treatment IMO.
 
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